Phoenix Formation
by Shakalakaboomboom
Summary: When a betrayal leaves Millie owing an Autobot her life she is determined to do everything within her power to repay her debt, even if it requires the greatest sacrifice of all. The race for the All Spark has begun... Eventual Optimus/OC rating may be subject to change.
1. Bitter Betrayal

**Hello! Welcome to my first Transformers fic. This is a sort of preliminary chapter - as most first chapters are - so I hope you enjoy it! Please remember to review!**

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>Tonight was the night.<p><p>

Tonight she would escape from her living hell.

She could see night slowly falling outside through the small window in her room. Her cell. The whitewashed walls were devoid of any mark or stain; an outsider would not have known that a 17 year old girl had lived there for 12 years.

The girl watched as the sun slipped below the horizon. It was time to act. The night patrol would be switching in five minutes. Within that time she had to hack into the mainframe of the facility, disable the security cameras and unlock her door.

Simple.

Five minutes.

Moving silently across the room towards the door, the girl pressed her slight form against the wall as she felt for the loose panel. Finding the weakness, the girl hit the panel with her fist and it slipped from the wall instantly. Her waiting hands caught the panel before it could clatter to the floor, and she rested it gently against the ground.

Having exposed the circuitboard within the wall, the girl quickly connected a lead from her laptop to a socket hidden amongst the wires and began to ferociously type on the keyboard.

Four and a half minutes.

Hacking had always been something that the teenager excelled at. Whether this was due to the intense tutoring she'd had since arriving at the facility, or simply through natural ability, she wasn't sure.

Multiple firewalls began to crumble as she continued her intrusion into the system, firstly disabling alarms, cameras, motion sensors... Anything that would give them any hint that she was trying to escape.

The clock continued to count down as the girl worked her way through the firewalls and into the mainframe. With 53 seconds to spare, the door released a quiet click as the lock was disengaged.

Hurriedly, the girl disconnected her laptop and secured it within her small backpack along with the rest of her things. A bottle a water, underwear, a black jumper... Her SIG Pro semi-automatic.

Pausing for a moment, the girl doubted whether it was wise to leave her gun in the backpack. Making a quick decision, she pulled it from the bag's depths and secured its holster around her waist. Throwing the backpack over her shoulder, the girl turned her back on the room and reached for the door, her ears straining for any signs of movement outside.

When nothing but a deafening silence greeted her, the girl pulled the gun from its holster and slipped silently through the doorway.

Moving soundlessly along the corridor, the girl kept her body pressed to the wall and her gun held high as she made for the only exit she knew. Her training kicked in instantly as her senses sharpened and her mind cleared of everything except the task at had.

She would escape.

She had no other choice now.

On her left came the boys' corridor. She knew that only one room down there was still occupied now. Her closest friend, her confidante: her Connor.

"Millie?"

The girl - Millie - spun at the sound of the voice. She raised her gun and aim it at the heart of the one who spoke.

"Connor?"

The shock in her usually guarded voice was evident as she slowly approached the tall, dark haired boy. She lowered her gun slightly as she moved closer; Connor was the only person Millie knew who she could trust completely, guns were not needed around him.

"Mills, what are you doing?" Connor hissed as he stepped away from his door and towards the girl. "You told me you planned to escape, but I didn't think you were being serious!"

"I was perfectly serious." Millie defended quickly, glancing behind her to make sure the night guards had not returned to duty yet. "I thought I made that clear when I told you."

"I wasn't sure whether I wanted to believe you..." Connor replied, casting his chocolate eyes down from Millie's sharp, emerald gaze. "It seems impossible."

"It's not impossible Connor," Millie said softly as she reached forward and placed a gentle hand on his cheek, "nothing's impossible. I'm escaping. Now. If you want to come with me, then grab anything you can and cover the rear."

Connor nodded swiftly and turned into his room, Millie close behind him. Scrambling lithely around the room, Connor gathered his small number of personal possessions and stashed them into a backpack.

"What were you doing in the corridor without any guards?" Millie questioned suddenly and she realised what had been nagging her at the back of her mind. They were never allowed to be outside of their rooms without an escort: free rein around the corridors was forbidden.

"I just came from Disciplinary." Connor said flatly, his eyes darkening at the thought. "They let me return alone after... Everything."

Millie cringed slightly as she remembered Connor's punishment. At firearms training that morning, the commanding officer had struck Millie across the face for missing the bullseye with her sightless rifle by an inch. Connor, in retaliation, had shot the officer in the hand with which he had struck Millie. The resulting chaos led to Millie being locked down in her room for the remainder of the day and Connor being charged to attend Disciplinary. Millie herself had never been so disobedient as to be sentenced to Disciplinary, but she had heard plenty of stories of the horrors it entailed. Some of the other children that had been kept at the facility the same as Millie and Connor had died from injuries they'd endured at Disciplinary.

Unsure of what to say, Millie allowed her actions to speak for her. She grasped Connor's hand as he passed her, squeezing it slightly in comfort. Her eyes shone with sympathy and worry as Connor looked down on her, the corners of his lips turning up in a small smile to say he was okay.

"I'm ready." He said quietly after a moment longer. He himself squeezed Millie's hand reassuringly before they released each other and made for the door.

Connor stepped through first, his own gun raised at the ready if it were needed. Millie waited within the room as she listened for Connor's quiet confirmation that the corridor was empty. The two of them had been sent on plenty of reconnaissance missions during their 12 years at the facility. They had been paired from the start as they seemed to work together so well, and their cooperation with each other was now like second nature to the two of them.

A quiet "All clear." reached Millie's sensitive ears and she stepped out into the corridor once again, determined to continue with her escape.

Her determination, however, could not prepare her for what she saw next.

Standing across the corridor with every gun trained on her was a guard of at least 20 armed men. Standing before them was Connor, a cocky smile on his face as he casually twirled his gun around his fingers.

"Connor, what are you doing?" Millie cried, raising get gun and jumping away from the guard. Away from him. "Get away from them!"

It was lame, and Millie knew it, but it was the only sentence that she could conjure at the moment as she was too filled with shock at Connor seemingly relaxed persona.

"Oh he's not going anywhere."

That voice. That voice belonged to the man who had orchestrated Millie's 12 years of training, learning, fighting and killing.

A man in his late 50s stepped forward through the throng of armed soldiers, placing a hand on Connor's broad shoulder. The man was of a short stature and had smartly cut grey hair that spread into a thin and meticulous beard that framed his sharp chin.

Millie, Connor and the others (before the rest of them had been killed) had simply known him as Zada.

Zada gently lifted his thin glasses from his face and slowly began to clean the lenses, his eyes never leaving Millie. In return, Millie kept her eyes trained on the man, flicking from his face down to his glasses and then back to his face once again.

"To say that I am disappointed in you, Datura, is an understatement." Zada said calmly as he returned his glasses to his face. "You've held such promise for so many years. You can imagine the disappointment I felt when Adonis told me of your plan to escape."

Millie couldn't help but flinch at Zada's words. Firstly it was the use of her other name, the name of the killer she was - Datura. Then it was the fact that Connor, her closest friend - and possibly even more - had betrayed her trust.

Zada stepped forward slowly, conscious of the fact that Millie's gun was still trained on his chest. Connor took a step forward beside him, but Zada raised a hand and halted his movement silently. Millie's grip tightened automatically on the gun and her eyes flicked down quickly to check that the safety was most definitely off.

"We can go about this sticky situation in two ways, Datura." Zada said as he came to a stop a few metres from Millie. "Our first option is that you lower the gun and admit to your mistake. We will be compassionate and let you live, but your loyalties will have to be... How shall I put it... Reinforced."

Millie flinched a second time, her skin flushing cold as she heard the obvious threat behind the empty words. The facility had been researching and experimenting with neuroscience and the power of the human mind... Who knew what evils they had uncovered.

"Your second option..." Zada said darkly, his forehead creasing into many lines as he frowned. "Is to run. Run like the poisonous flower you are. You will not escape from us: we will catch you - perhaps maim you so your death is a painful one before we grant you passage into the waiting arms of darkness."

"You were always one for dramatics, Zada." Millie said calmly, although she was falling to pieces inside. She could not show them how Connor's betrayal was breaking her.

Zada simply raised an eyebrow at her comment.

"Was I? I never noticed." Zada said with a small smirk on his lips. "What'll it be, Datura? Are you going to live or die?"

Millie's eyes flicked up and around herself as she debated her next move. Possibilities began to spring into her mind again as a third voice entered the conversation.

"Put the gun down Millie." Connor said nonchalantly, stepping forward. "It's the best option for you. You know none of us want to see you dead."

"I know which option I'm going to choose, Adonis." Millie said harshly, her emerald eyes turning cold as she glared at Connor. The golden flecks that were scattered amongst the green seemed to flare with an unseen fire. "I choose option three: escape."

Without a second thought, Millie aimed her gun at the ceiling and fired two shots at the pipeline above them. In an instant, the highly compressed gas was escaping through the holes and filling the corridor with a white, dense fog of water vapour.

Gunshots ran through the corridor as Connor opened fire blindly into the fog, hoping that a bullet had found its way into Millie's flesh. How dare she abandon the programme; how dare she abandon him.

"Stop!" Zada cried angrily, grasping Connor's arm harshly and pulling his gun down. "Don't kill her! Not yet..."

"Yet?" Connor spat, scowling darkly at his superior. "She openly reject your generous offer of pardon."

"There is a way to bring her back to us, willing or not." Zada said, his grey eyes glinting dangerously as he began to march down the corridor in pursuit of the girl. "Our neurological research hasn't been for nothing, Adonis..."

Connor paused for a moment as he thought over Zada's words, watching as the man advanced into the dense fog. A malicious smile spread across his lips as he turned to face the men behind him. His now wet hair slicked across his forehead as he issued his command:

"Find Datura. Detain her, but keep her alive. That's an order. Now go!"

After firing the gun, Millie had turned and high-tailed it down the corridor and round the corner. She's recognised the sound of Connor's gun as bullets flew past her ears but thankfully missed her. Panic swept through her system as she tried to suppress it and keep a cool head. Adrenaline pumped through her veins as thoughts of her next move filtered through her head like the film of a movie. Surrender; be killed. Hide; be found, be killed. Make a stand; kill many, be killed. None of her options were particularly promising. All of them involved her being unable to escape from the facility: the one exit she knew had been blocked by twenty armed guards.

Skidding around the next turning, Millie held her gun carefully as she sprinted along the corridor. Red lights flashed and sirens wailed like the Furies, but still she ran, her mind and body focused on escaped.

Around the next corner, the most beautiful thing met Millie's eyes: a fire exit.

With a small cry of relief that she would not be running aimlessly through the facility anymore, Millie slammed into the safety door, opening it, and sprinted into the waiting arms of the cool spring evening. A familiar sight greeted her as Millie ran across the courtyard and towards the gate. The car park to her right was barren, as usual, aside from the beaten up old 1977 Chevrolet camero that Millie and the others hand learned to drive in. Millie cringed as bullets flew around her while she ran. She was exposed, she knew, but the thought of being able to pass through those gates in front of her had driven her to act rashly.

Guards were rushing from exits on all sides of the facility, their guns trained on the teenager. Shots flew around her arms and legs as Millie raised her own gun and fired. Bicep, thigh, shoulder... None of her shots would be fatal, but Millie knew from experience that she would have caused enough damage to incapacitate the guards.

Bullets continued to fly past her ear as Millie approached the gates. One hundred metres. Seventy five metres. Fifty metres. So close to freedom.

"Remember your orders!" A harsh, twisted voice - Connor's voice - screamed across the courtyard. "Maim only! She is still useful to us!"

Terror ran through Millie at Connor's words. She would not be their puppet any longer. She would rather die.

A sudden force collided with Millie's right thigh and she cried out in surprise and pain as her leg gave way beneath her and she went crashing to the ground.

"Surround her! Surround her!"

Groaning in agony, Millie pressed a hand to her thigh and felt the sticky mess of her blood that was leaking over her khaki trousers. She pushed herself to her feet and continued to stumble towards the gates, before her leg buckled once again and she hit the dirt, hard.

Winded and broken, Millie began to drag herself across the yellow grass, spotlights from the high walls around her followed her slow progression towards freedom. Ten metres. That's all she had left. Ten metres and God decided it would be the perfect time for her to be shot.

"It's no use, Datura." Zada's arrogant voice slipped across the courtyard like oil, coating everyone with his victorious proclamation. Millie could practically hear the gleeful smile in his voice. "There's nothing you can do except surrender to us quickly and quietly."

Millie continued to crawl for a moment more before her body sagged against the ground in defeat. The pain from her thigh was too much and she could feel her own blood dripping from the wound through her fingers and onto the dirt. Heaving a heavy sigh, Millie pushed herself onto her back and propped up onto one elbow. She watched Zada carefully as he stood fifteen metres form her. A thin smile was plastered on his lips as Connor walked up behind him, reloading his gun.

"You know, Millie..." Connor said dryly as he snapped the barrel of the gun shut and examined it fondly. "I never thought I'd have to use my marksmanship to shoot you of all people."

Another sting in the bitterness of betrayal. Millie bit back a whimper as she realised the bullet in her thigh had come from Connor's gun.

Zada stepped forward and opened his mouth to speak, but he was suddenly interrupted by the booming sound of atmospheric disturbance. All eyes - including Millie's - turned to the sky as what appeared to be a meteor entered the Earth's atmosphere. Cries of disbelief rippled around the courtyard as the meteor hurtled through the sky, small flecks of burning pieces flying from its streamlined body.

"It's heading straight for us..." Millie whispered quietly as realisation dawned upon her quickly. The meteor continued its descent and grew larger as it came closer.

"Clear the area!" Connor barked suddenly, running to grab a hold of Zada's arm and pulling the man to the side of the courtyard. "That thing's going to hit us!"

Panic ensued as guards scrambled across the courtyard to find a hiding place. All the while, the meteor continued its descent towards the facility, its burning bulk growing closer and closer by the second.

Millie didn't move. She couldn't move. Her leg was crippled and her determination had been shattered. The meteor was coming closer and closer, but still she didn't move.

Silence enveloped them all for a moment, before a thundering boomechoedacross the facility: the meteor had landed.

In a rain of sparks and burning metal, the meteor crashed in the centre of the courtyard, ripping up grass and concrete alike. Millie braced herself as the huge, seemingly metal, object skidded towards her. Surprisingly though, an explosion beneath the meteor sent it flying over Millie's head and crashing into the facility wall behind her, smashing it to the ground the same a bowling ball does to pins.

Millie raised her arm and covered her head as dust and rumbled rained down on the courtyard. Her bullet wound stung as the dust slipped by her fingers and into the exposed muscle. Hissing painfully, Millie brought her leg up to her chest to try and cover it.

The silence returned as the meteor came to a rest amongst the ruins of the concrete wall. Millie glanced behind her through the settling dust to see the outline of the meteor; it was unusual, to say the least. Ridges and curves littered the surface as hieroglyphics and symbols seemed to dance across the metal in a haphazard but organised fashion.

The sound of movement caused Millie to turn away from the meteor. Behind her, Zada, Connor and the guards had emerged gem their hiding places, their guns trained on her in an instant.

"You dare think about moving, Datura, and I'll send a bullet straight through your chest." Zada threatened as he raised his gun and released the safety.

There was nothing Millie could do. Her escape had failed, there was a bullet in her leg and a huge metal meteor resting behind her in the ruins of the facility wall, blocking her one route to freedom. What could she do, except accept that she was most likely going to die. Or worse.

Without having a true reason for doing so, Millie turned her head to have one final look at the meteor behind her. Her emerald eyes shone with tears as she realised her time had come. Her gaze drifted over the metal, unsure of what it would find. Pleadingly, a quiet whisper passed her dry lips:

"Please help me."

Millie didn't know why the hell she said it, using her last moments to talk to a lump of metal. She had always wished for a happy ending and instead she was just going crazy.

What she didn't expect, however, was for the metal meteor to shatter into thousands of pieces as soon as the words left her mouth.


	2. Breaking Down the Walls

**Oh my Primus, I honestly wasn't expecting such a response from you guys for the first chapter! It made me so happy to have all the follow, favourite and review notifications on my email, I can't thank you enough!**

**For my reviewers, I extend a big big thank you to especially, it was so nice to read youe comments and I hope what I have planned for Millie's future doesn't disappoint!**

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><p><span><strong>Bumblebee<strong>

Who'd have thought the magnetism of the planet was cause his telemetry to go awry? Ratchet had suggested something like that could happen, but Bumblebee had been a bit speculative on the matter.

Until now.

It appeared to Bumblebee that he'd managed to land in the middle of a conflict zone. He fired the thrusters of the pod to avoid the body of a small fleshling on the ground before him. The pod lifted from the ground for a moment, showering the small fleshling with dust and stones, before the momentum carried it forward and into a large wall. The structure was quickly levelled with the force of the impact. Now that he was still, Bumblebee could see that the fleshling - human, Optimus had called them humans - was in fact a femme. An injured femme at that: she was leaking lubricants all over the grass and appeared to be in obvious pain.

And every single gun was trained on her. Men from all over the complex were scrambling from various covered areas to train their guns on her as soon as they

could. They must have thought her dangerous, but there was no gun in her hand - only one that had been buried by a rock in front of her - and she was clearly injured.

Bumblebee's vents flared as he heard one of the armed humans make a threat to the young femme.

"You dare think about moving, Datura, and I'll send a bullet straight through your chest."

A small rumble of anger rippled through Bumblebee's vocal processors before he could offline them. The tiny femme before him seemed to shrink back further from those around her. Her movements were slow and painful, and Bumblebee watched as she turned and looked pleadingly at his pod. Desperation radiated from her gaze as her eyes trailed over the pod, searching for Primus knew what. The thing that caused Bumblebee's spark to wrench, however, was the sound of the broken voice that came from the tiny femme.

"Please help me."

How did she know? How did she know that Bumblebee - a sentient being more than capable of helping her situation - was within the pod.

It was the power of the emotion in her voice that caught Bumblebee out as well; such deep, honest emotion from a member of such a young race. He had never believed that those with so little history could match the emotion capacity of his race. However, the eyes of the young femme proved him wrong with a single glance

In an instant, Bumblebee's mind was decided. Processors onlined as the scout began the ejection process of the pod, overriding standard protocols and initiating battle protocols. Within moments, the pod had fallen away from around him and Bumblebee emerged in his protoform. The humans holding the guns cried out in terror at the sight of him, which was understandable and unsurprising to Bumblebee. Bullets flew off his protoform, tickling his receptors as Bumblebee analysed the situation: the girl, who was now seated by his pede, stared up at the young scout with wide, awe-filled eyes.

Bumblebee knelt to the ground behind the femme and wrapped his servo around around her, covering her from the fire of the bullets.

Hacking into the electromagnetic wave frequencies the humans used for radio communications, Bumblebee quickly found the appropriate sound bytes for the femme:

"_You and I ... Gotta go Downtown._"

With a small moment of hesitation, the femme glanced around herself and back up at Bumblebee before nodding sharply. Rather than being terrified by the appearance of a sentient alien robot - as Bumblebee believed most humans would be - the femme's optics filled with renewed determination and... Respect? Was that really what the scout saw in her optics?

Initiating another processor to analyse the femme's body language, Bumblebee quickly looked around the compound that surrounded them. There had to be an human vehicle that he could upload into his systems to use as an alternative mode to his currently bipedal protoform. A beaten-up yellow vehicle caught his eye and Bumblebee quickly began to scan it.

"How do we get out of here?"

A small voice reached Bumblebee's audio receptors and he looked down to see the femme watching him carefully. The colour seemed to have drained from her face as the area of red stain on her thigh grew.

"_I'm on it Captain_." Bumblebee played the sound byte as he finished scanning the vehicle. He picked the femme up gently in his servo and played another sound byte: "_Hold onto your hats, Ladies and Gentlemen!_"

The femme had enough time to curl into his hand before Bumblebee initiated his transforming into the alternative mode. Within moments he was speeding away down the road leading away from the compound with the femme held securely in the passenger seat by the seatbelt.

Shouting and gun shots echoed behind them as Bumblebee drove away. In a fit of fury, Zada clambered to the top of the rubble that was once the wall and began to fire round after round at the bumper of the yellow camero until it's fog lights faded into the distance.

"Jesus _Christ_!" Zada bellowed in anger, throwing down his gun and glaring at the men in the courtyard who seemed equally shock as he was. That meteor had... Well he didn't really know what it had done, but it had turned into what looked like a giant metal man. It sounded completely crazy and Zada wished his eyes had been decieving him, but the creature had _protected _Datura from their bullets and taken her away from the compound. Further still, the thing had managed to scan the camero in the car park and transform into and exact replica, rust and all.

"I want that camero found." Zada spat harshly as he slowly began to clamber down the rubble once again. "I don't care if it takes weeks, months or _years_, but that camero will be found, as wherever it is, Datura will not be far away."

"How can we be so sure?" Connor demanded suddenly, stepping forward through the damage to looking challengingly up at Zada. "How do we not know that the thing has taken Millie hostage, or has even killed her by now. It would be doing us a favour!"

"We cannot take that risk, Adonis!" Zada replied sharply as he came level to Connor. "For all we know, that creature could have been _rescuing _Datura from us and she is now free in the world. I thought you of all people would think that."

"I just want to put a bullet between her eyes." Connor spat darkly, turning his back on Zada.

"I thought you loved her." Zada stated firmly, causing Connor's temper to rise further.

"She's abandoned me; abandoned the programme!" Connor screamed in rage turning back to Zada as his eyes burned with a hateful fire.

"She is still useful to us." Zada replied calmly, ignoring Connor's furious gaze. "We will find her and bring her back here. Her mind can easily be shattered so she is naught but a soulless body. _Then_ you can exact your revenge on her, provided she stays alive and produces children."

"Children?" Connor questioned, horrified. "Why on Earth would you waste her talents as an assassin?"

"Her talents would not be wasted." Zada countered calmly. "Her genetics would be passed on into a new generation of soldiers for the programme."

Connor opened his mouth to reply, but thought better of it as he slowly thought over Zada's words. Yes, what better way to exact his revenge on her than that.

"Very well." Connor said calmly, any emotion in his voice that was present before was quickly removed and kept in check. "I shall lead the search... We will find her."

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><p><strong><strong>So that's the end of chapter two! I hope you're enjoying this so far! <strong>****All** **things relating to Zada, Connor and the** **facility will all be revealed in due** **time!**

**I know this wasn't as long as the first chapter, but I wanted to get _something_ ****out for you guys :3**

**Until all are one. **

**Shakalakaboomboom**


	3. A Long Road Ahead

**Wow I honestly didn't expect such a reception for this story! Thank you so much!i really hope I don't disappoint you all! We should hopefully be getting into Transformer 1 in the next few chapters, so I'm currently just building up to that situation :)**

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><p><strong><span>Millie<span>**

The robot - at least that's what Millie thought it was - had been driving for hours. The facility was hundreds of miles behind them and open countryside spread for miles in front. Millie hadn't said a word for the duration of the journey, but had instead been carefully watching the steering wheel as it turned by itself. An unusual insignia was etched into the centre of the wheel, and Millie had been forced to stop herself from reaching out and trailing her fingers over the shaped metal.

Shifting in the seat, Millie cringed as pain rippled across her thigh. She looked down to see that the makeshift bandage of a tshirt from her backpack had become soaked with blood and the red liquid was now dripping on the seat.

"Shit..." She muttered quietly, raising her leg as much as she could bare to stop anymore blood from dripping. "I'm so sorry, this is totally going to ruin your leather."

She was insane. There was no denying it. Millie was talking to a car that had previously been a robot that had crash landed in the middle of the facility as a meteor. Yep, definitely crazy.

Reaching to the seats behind, Millie grabbed her backpack and removed the remaining scraps of her tshirt. She balled them into her hand and began to wipe as much of the blood off as she could.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry." She whispered quietly as she wiped the blood, unaware that Bumblebee was watching her curiously.

"_No need... To apologise_." Bumblebee played the sound bytes and watched as the girl's arm froze mid-wipe.

"Is that how you communicate?" She asked curiously, raising her eyes to look at the radio. "Using the radio?"

A round of applause rippled through the car as Bumblebee played the soundbyte.

"_Thank you, thank you... You're wonderful._"

Millie couldn't help but chuckle lightly at the robot's choice of recording. She cringed again as they went over a bump on the road and the sharp movement disturbed her leg. A painful moan escaped her lips before she could contain it.

"_Little lady... Hurt._" Bumblebee played softly, concern filling his spark as he began scanning the femme. His scanning capabilities were not half as good as Ratchet's, but they were adequate enough for a scout. Her core temperature was above the stated average for humans and her systems had lost a lot of

lubricant from her wound.

"_You're too hot... For me, baby._" Bumblebee played the soundbyte for Millie, expressing his concern for her condition. The girl laughed softly before she cringed in pain again. Reaching behind her, she pulled the backpack from the seat and rested it on her good leg. She began to dig through the contents for a moment before pulling out a small green pack.

"I thought I had this..." Millie mumbled quietly as her shaking hands began to undo the bag.

Bumblebee watched sadly as her fingers failed to grasp the zip properly due to the shaking. Finding the correct programme he began to initiate the formation of his holoform - Ratchet's latest creation.

Within a few seconds, the holoform appeared in the drivers seat of the camero. Sandy blonde hair framed a young, angular face and bright blue eyes watched Millie as she continued to try and open the small medical kit.

"Do you need help with that?" Bumblebee said after a few moments of the girl failing to notice him. Millie glance up from her lap and promptly cried out, startled. Bumblebee was surprised that she didn't seem scared of his sudden appearance in this form, in fact it seemed as if she herself was surprised and intrigued.

"Where did you come from?" Millie asked, watching Bumblebee with interest, her eyes looking over his human form slowly.

"This is a holoform." Bumblebee said happily, proud that Ratchet's programme was working properly. "Our understanding of physics is far greater than yours. We can manipulate light to appear as we wish, and then further manipulate it to form a solid object."

As if to explain, Bumblebee reached out gently and lifted the first aid kit from Millie's lap. She didn't shrink away from the contact, but her eyes simply followed the movement of his hands, captivated. Bumblebee online a further processor to slow the speed of the camero and bring it to a gentle stop on the side of the road.

"Why have we stopped?" Millie asked quietly, glancing around herself and out through the window to the world outside, the pre-dawn light casting a golden glow on her pale face.

"We're not going any further until your leg has been seen to properly." Bumblebee replied firmly, opening the kit and searching through it for the appropriate equipment.

Silently, Bumblebee began to reach forward and remove the scraps of cloth from Millie's leg. Millie watched him quietly, allowing him to examine the bullet size hole in her lower thigh.

"Why are you helping me?" Millie asked suddenly, her voice dropping to a weak, weary tone. "You don't know me, you don't even know my name. Heck, I don't even know your name!"

Bumblebee sighed softly as he removed a wipe from the pack. His scans indicated that it was coated with ethanol, which was apparently used by humans due to its antiseptic properties.

"Firstly, my designation is Bumblebee." He said, his eyes flicking up to Millie's for a moment before he once again concentrated on her wound. "I am an Autonomous Robotic Organism from the planet Cybertron, but it's easier just to say Autobot for short. I helped you because you asked me to."

"You heard me?" She question, staring at him wide-eyed as shock filled her voice.

"Of course I did." Bumblebee replied a small smile curving at the corner of his lips. "We have very strong hearing, and it's probably something you should remember."

Millie's brows furrowed for a moment as she processed the information Bumblebee gave her. She'd come to the conclusion many hours ago that he was an alien of some description, however impossible it seemed. What confused her was initially what he was doing on Earth, and then secondly why was he alone. Then he'd used a plural, meaning there had to be more of them.

"We?" Millie asked, speaking her thoughts aloud and hoping for a straight answer.

Bumblebee opened his mouth to reply, but quickly thought better of it and closed it once again, a wry smile forming.

"You said yourself that I don't know your name." His fingers continued to work cleaning Millie's wound as he spoke. "I suggest we ask one question each alternately. So far you've asked a question, so it's my turn to ask."

Millie raised an eyebrow at Bumblebee in amusement: his logic was perfectly sound, but she wasn't sure what answers she could give to his questions.

"That's fair enough." She said haltingly, her eyebrow still raised slightly and a smile of her own forming. "Ask away."

"Firstly," Bumblebee said confidently, happy that he'd managed to start a successful conversation with the girl, "what is your designation?"

"Designation?" Millie questioned, glancing down at her leg to watch Bumblebee's hands work. "On this planet we say that our designation is our name - just in case you were planning on staying."

Bumblebee chuckled quietly at Millie's advice and comment: who knew how long he's be on the planet for? He had come for one reason, and he knew other Autobots would follow as soon as his discovery was made.

"Very well then." He said, smiling slightly. "I shall abide by your social traditions. What is your name?"

"My full name is Emilia." Millie replied softly; Bumblebee noticed an almost sad undertone to her voice. "But I prefer Millie as it's shorter and easier. I don't know my real surname - I never have done - so I can't tell you that I'm afraid."

A quiet, contented noise rumbled through Bumblebee's chest in response as he churned the sounds of her name through his processors, learning the foreign pronunciation. He tested the name aloud a few times, causing Millie herself to laugh more than once as he spoke with a slight accent.

"It is unusual." Bumblebee said finally, stopping his repetition of the name.

"Not on this planet." Millie said nonchalantly, her gaze drifting out of the window to see the sun rising behind the mountains in the distance. "It is unusual for Emilia to be spelt with an E instead of an A, but it is a common name."

Bumblebee nodded slightly as he listened to Millie, his eyes fixed on her wound. He had been trying to remove the bullet that had become lodged in her thigh. He was sure his actions must have been causing her much pain but, aside from her muscles tensing now and again, she did not show it.

"Can you feel the pain in your leg?" He asked, concerned as the bullet shifted slightly in the muscle.

"That is a second question." Millie teased, glancing from the window to look down at Bumblebee's work on her thigh. "I believe it's my turn to ask the questions."

Bumblebee went to protest, but Millie quickly silenced him with a gentle glare.

"Those are the rules of the game, Bee, you set them yourself." Millie teased, barely registering the nickname she adopted for him. "I want to know why you have come to Earth."

"But your leg-"

"Will heal." Millie cut him off firmly, although she laid her hand gently across Bumblebee's. He watched her speculatively for a moment, before he sigh heavily and nodded. He couldn't still feel the tremor in her hand, but her stubborn gaze stopped him from questioning her judgement.

"I have come to this planet in search of the All Spark." Bumblebee said after a few moments more, turning his eyes away from Millie and concentrating on his work. "It is vitally important that I find it, as it's key for my race's survival. It is the Giver of Life; an object of creation. Many vorn ago, the All Spark was lost to the stars and we have been searching for it ever since..."

Bumblebee went on to narrate much of his knowledge of the All Spark to Millie as he continued to treat her leg. When it was time for the wound to be stitched, he searched their World Wide Web and quickly downloaded the technique for a simple interrupted suture.

Without a second thought, the holoform began to stitch the wound closed, before he paused in shock as he realised Millie didn't have any local anaesthetic in the area. Glancing up worriedly, Bumblebee saw that Millie's eyes had drifted shut. Scanning her quickly revealed that she was deep in recharge and that her blood glucose concentration was very low.

Finishing the stitches quickly, Bumblebee bandaged the leg before he offlined the holoform and began to speed away down the road. He needed to find food for Millie or she would soon become hypoglycaemic, which would not be good at all.

Speeding down the road, Bumblebee began to think over Millie's question once again.

_"Why are you helping me?"_

The answer he had given was a crude one, but Bumblebee himself was struggling to find an answer to it. When he'd revealed himself to the femme, she hadn't been scared or even shocked by his appearance. Yes she had been surprised, but had also immediately held respect in her eyes. Respect for him: an alien species never known to man. How could Bumblebee have allowed those men to kill her? She had accepted him so readily, which had instantly made Bumblebee protective of her on this foreign world. He didn't want to lose her to a bullet.

That was probably the most viable answer the scout could think of for the long drive to the nearest town.

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><p><strong>Well I hope this chapter is okay. The action etc should be returning in the next few chapters as the Autobots arrive (whoop!). <strong>

**I know it's very early on as well, but I want to know if you guys what the rating of the story to go up to M and include some more mature content (wink wink). I'm happy to write that for you but I'd have to start planning ahead when certain scenes would happen hence the early question.**

**Til all are one.**

**Shakalakaboomboom**


	4. Decisions Must be Made

**Here we are with chapter 4! Thank you so so much to everyone who has reviewed/followed/favourited the story! I am so grateful to you all :)**

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><p><span><strong>Millie<strong>

Shrugging off the darkness of her dreamless sleep, Millie blinked her eyes open. She looked around the interior of the car wearily as she push herself up slowly, wincing as her arms shook slightly. Her stomach growled loudly and she was forced to fight back a hungry groan. Leaning against the door of the car, Millie wrapped her arms around her abdomen and curled up into a comfortable position.

Glancing down, Millie's eyes widened to see a clean white bandage wrapped neatly around her lower thigh. Trailing her fingers over the material, she could feel the small bumps indicating four neat stitches.

"I did the best I could, I hope they're okay..."

Looking up quickly, Millie saw Bumblebee's holoform perched comfortable in the driver's seat, watching her with apprehension in his eyes as his sandy hair fell messily across his forehead.

"Oh Bee..." She murmured softly, a relieved smile forming on her lips as she trailed her fingers over the stitches again. "You really didn't have to. Thank you so much."

Bumblebee smiled brightly at her thanks, nodding slightly before he reached into the footwell behind him and lifted a bag into his lap. Millie watched him silently as he removed a huge pile of chocolate, pop tarts, sandwiches, water and energy drinks.

"I wasn't sure how much humans eat - or if you had any preferences - so I just got everything."

Millie's mouth dropped open in shock as Bumblebee offered the pile of food to her. He pushed a bottle of water and a sandwich into her hands, watching her expectantly as she started at them.

"Bee..." Millie trailed off softly. Nobody had ever shown her such kindness, let alone an alien robot whom she'd only know for the best part of a day. "Why are you doing all this for me?"

Bumblebee shrugged slightly, a sly smile forming on his face.

"You passed out last night. It wouldn't have been good if I'd saved you from the bullets and then you died from hunger and dehydration."

Millie stared at him for a moment, before she chuckled lightly and began to open the sandwich, taking a drink from the water as she did so.

"I got you some different clothes too." Bumblebee continued, reaching further into the bag to reveal some cotton tracksuit bottoms, a Yankees sweatshirt and a matching baseball cap. "Those people will probably be searching for you... I thought it would be best if you changed your clothes so they don't start hunting down every person in khakis."

Millie glance down at her khakis, noting the large bloodstain covering one of the legs.

"Ruined khakis at that." She added offhandedly, causing Bumblebee to snort slightly in amusement.

The two fell silent as Millie continued to eat. She savoured the flavour of the sandwich, having been restricted by the monitored diet of the facility for so many years. Bumblebee glanced at the radio and quickly flicked to a small station playing smooth classics.

"Pachebel's Cannon in D." Millie noted, listening to the familiar music as Bumblebee watched her. "Good choice Bee."

A small round of applause rippled from the speakers again as Bumblebee smiled brightly, causing Millie to laugh and then choke on her mouthful.

Spluttering, Millie drank some water to help the food material go down as Bumblebee continued to laugh at her.

"It that necessary?" She asked after a moment to catch her breath, her voice hoarse from the choking.

Bumblebee smiled innocently as the sound of Bart Simpson's voice came through the radio:

"_I didn't do it!_"

Millie snorted again, shaking her head disdainfully as a teasing smile formed on her lips.

The comfortable silence blossomed once again as Millie finished her sandwich. She watched Bumblebee carefully as his eyes turned to the road, watching where the camero was driving them.

"How do you do that?" She asked curiously as Bumblebee looked at her once again.

"Do what?"

"Have a conversation with me and still know where you're driving without using the wheel."

"I've got multiple processors running." Bumblebee shrugged nonchalantly. "I can concentrate on any one of them when I wish. For example I'm currently concentrating on the holoform so I can feel everything it feels. However if I concentrate on my true form-" the holoform seemed to lose any form of personality and sat silently in its seat as a small light blossomed in the radio, "_-then... I'm in here, honey._"

The holoform began to become aware once again as Bumblebee regained control: a broad smile spread on his face as he saw Millie's fascination.

"That's amazing." She said, causing Bumblebee's smile to widen further. She chuckled again and shook her head in amusement. "To think that humans thought we were the only sentient beings in the universe."

"There's surprisingly more than you think." Bumblebee agreed glancing at the road once again. Millie followed his line of sight to see that they were approaching a small town.

"What's going to happen now?" Millie asked suddenly, looking across at Bumblebee. "You can't keep looking after me when you have a much more important task at hand."

"But Millie-"

"But nothing." She cut off, surprised that Bumblebee seemed so protective of her. "You didn't come to this planet to save my life: you came to find the All Spark. I am of course very grateful for all that you have done for me and I owe you my life, but..."

Millie trailed off, unsure of how to continue. She readily admitted didn't really want to leave Bumblebee, but she didn't want to act as a hindrance either.

Bumblebee himself was in turmoil as well: how could he feel so protective of this small human femme he'd only known for such a short period of time?

"Bumblebee..." Millie said sadly, a sudden realisation hitting her as she thought back to the facility and the events of the previous. "Those people you saved me from will want to find me. When they find me, they'll want to kill me. They will be hunting for a yellow 1977 camero right now; they'll be hunting for you."

The brakes of the camero suddenly locked as the car came to a skidding halt in the middle of the dusty road. Millie clutched onto the dashboard to stabilise herself as the holoform disappeared from existence and Bumblebee rolled to a stop, dust and stones flying up around him. The passenger side door snapped open and Millie took this as a gesture to leave the car. She clambered out quickly, being careful to favour her good leg, and turned to see Bumblebee hastily transforming into his bipedal form.

It truly was sight for Millie to see him transform for the first time. The camero seemed to shatter into thousands of pieces, but they twisted and coiled amongst themselves in impossible combinations to take an entirely new form. The bumper of the camero acted as Bumblebee's chest plates while the doors rested on his back in a likeness to a pair of wings.

"Wow..." Millie breathed, limping back a few paces to take in Bumblebee's whole form. The splattering of yellow metal seemed to spread evenly across his form, complementing the darker metals perfectly. Millie estimated that he stood at around seventeen feet tall.

Bumblebee watched her carefully with his bright blue optics as she took in his bipedal form. Crouching down slowly, his head came level with Millie and he let out a soft whining sound from his vocal processors. Millie smiled sadly up at him and reached out slowly, trailing her fingers over his face plates. She was quite surprised that the metal beneath her fingers was comfortably warm.

"You know it's the right thing to do, Bee." Millie said as she let her hand drop to her side.

Bumblebee shrugged slightly, a series of protesting whines and clicks escaping from his vocal processors as a played a sound byte:

"_Do you have to go?_"

"It's the best thing to do, Bee." Millie repeated. She began limping backwards and forwards in front of the bot, thinking carefully as she glance sideways at him.

"They will know that I am injured so will assume I'll stay with you." Millie said carefully after a few moments of thinking. She paused her uneven pacing to turn and look at Bumblebee. "The best thing to do is be unpredictable. They'll believe that I'll stay with you as it's the safest place for me-"

"_That's true... So you... Stay!_" Bumblebee cut in, nodding his head firmly.

"But," Millie continued, raising her hand to pause Bumblebee's protest. "They will not expect me to leave you. Heck, I don't want to leave having made a friend out of a seventeen foot Autobot."

Bumblebee watched Millie sadly as she began to pace once again. Her limp was obvious - especially as the bandage around her thigh was clearly visible - but Millie seemed to pay it no heed. Instead, she turned to look at Bumblebee once again with a spark of renewed determination burning in her eyes.

"I have to go, Bee, and that's final."

Instead of protesting this time, Bumblebee remain quiet and watched Millie carefully: her sudden determination had ignited a small feeling of confidence in his spark.

"You and I will meet again, Bee." Millie said firmly, stepping closer to the Autobot with a grim smile. "I owe you my life. I am in your debt, and when the time comes I will do all that is in my power to repay you."

Unsure of what sound byte would best suit the situation, Bumblebee transformed back into the camero quickly and onlined his holoform. He climbed from the driver's side door and quickly strode around the front of the car towards Millie. She watched Bumbleebee silently as him came to a stop before her, resting a hand on her arm.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" He questioned worriedly, glancing down at her bandage again. "I am not worried about those people attacking us: we would easily be able to outrun them - and out gun them."

"It is not your capabilities I am worried about, Bee," Millie smiled softly, "it's the fact you didn't come to this planet to look after me. As I said before: you came for the All Spark and that's what you need to focus on. When the time is right I'll find you again and repay my debt, but right now we need to lay low and drop off Zada's radar."

"Zada?" Bumblebee questioned suddenly, his blue eyes darkening as his expression hardened. "That's the name of the man who did this to you?"

"Bee..." Millie trailed off, her voice suddenly sounding very weary. Bumblebee watched her worriedly as she cast her eyes downwards. "Please don't concern yourself with him. He is my problem, and you already have a lot on your plate to deal with."

Bumblebee raised a single eyebrow as he looked down at Millie sceptically. Millie looked up to see his concern and raised an eyebrow of her own.

"Bee..." She said with a warning tone.

Releasing a frustrated sigh, Bumblebee looked away from Millie and have a single, sharp nod.

"Very well. I'll do as you ask."

"Thank you."

Turning away from Millie, Bumblebee strode back around to the driver's side door. If he was going to be leaving Millie to fend for herself, then by Primus he would make sure that she had enough resources to look after herself for now.

"Get in." He commanded although his voice held a gentle tone. "I'm going to take you into town before we go our separate ways: it is the least I can do."

A broad smile formed on Millie's lips as she moved forward and climbed into the camero, the passenger door already open and waiting for her. As soon as she was seated, the safety belt slid comfortably around her body and amid a cloud of dust, Bumblebee began speeding down the road once again.

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><p><strong>We are getting close to Transformera 1 now, yay! I must apologise if this takes me a while to write sometimes... My computer has died so ive been writing all of this in the notes of my iPhone :')<strong>

**Reviews are greatly appreciated!**

**Til all are one.**

**Shakalakaboomboom**


	5. Enter Sector Seven

**Hello everyone! Firstly, I am terribly sorry this has taken so long to upload! I have been on work experience all week at an equine hospital and everything has just been completely crazy! Anyway... Thank you so much for all the follows/favourites/reviews I'm getting :3 only writers will truly understand this, but reviews really do inspire you to keep writing!**

**Happy reading!**

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><p><span><strong>Millie<strong>

Millie was sitting quietly in a small coffee shop near the centre of the small town. The shop was virtually empty, besides from an elderly couple chattering away happily four tables to her left and a lone motorcyclist three tables in front.

Bumblebee had parked outside of the cafe and instructed Millie to wait in there for him until he return. She had positioned herself in the corner of the shop so she could see both the door to the street and the door behind the counter: escape routes. Old habits die hard.

She'd managed to change into the tracksuit bottoms and sweatshirt before Bumblebee had rolled into the town. Her dark mahogany hair was tucked neatly up into the Yankees cap so not to attract attention or possibly be recognised on any hacked security cameras.

Glancing down, Millie reached for her cup of tea calmly, maintaining an air of innocence as she waited patiently in her corner. The young man who served behind the counter barely paid her any attention as he busied himself with his work. The couple and the biker kept to their own affairs and ignored her completely.

The familiar rumble of the camero could be heard outside as Bumblebee returned, parking up just outside the window. Millie's back straightened slightly as her sharp eyes watched the entrance where the Autobot's holoform would undoubtedly come through.

As expected, a few moments later, Bumblebee walked casually through into the cafe and waved amicably at Millie in greeting. Millie returned the wave, registering that the elderly couple glanced at them with amused smiles before returning to their crosswords. The biker ignored them completely, occupying himself with his Full English Breakfast as he devoured the hash brown.

As Bumblebee approached, Millie took the time to really analyse him: watching his stride and body language closely, she came to a few conclusions in her head. Firstly, he was young. Very young. His pace was purposeful but there was a slight spring in his step; he had a sense of duty but had yet to get enough years under his belt to control his enthusiasm.

His eyes were large and young as well, but there was also a great sadness hidden underneath. For one so young he had already seen a great many things, none of which she guessed were very pleasant.

"Thanks for waiting." Bumblebee said quietly as he pulled up a chair and sat with Millie. The girl nodded in reply, watching the couple and the biker for a few more moments before her eyes turned once again to Bumblebee.

"I've got as many things sorted for you as I can." Bumblebee murmured quietly, sliding a black backpack off his shoulder and resting it at Millie's feet. "Inside here you'll find four thousand dollars, food and keys to a small motorcycle that's parked beside me."

Millie couldn't help it as her jaw dropped open. She started at the holoform in front of her, not expecting him to have gathered together as much as he did.

"Bee, I can't-"

"-you can and you will." He cut her off quickly, laying a soft, calloused finger on her lips to silence her. "I can't leave you with nothing. There's enough money there to pay for fuel and hotel rooms until you find a source of income."

"But where did you get the money?" Millie asked incredulously, staring down at the bag and then once again up at Bumblebee. "You've barely even been here a day!"

"Your computer systems are fairly primitive." Bumblebee replied proudly, a smug smile forming on his lips. He reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked to be a credit card.

"This," he said, waving the card around between his fingers, "simply removes one cent from thousands of bank accounts from across this country and around the world. Nobody would ever notice it missing, and I buy the resources honestly."

"As honestly as the Universe being created in seven days..." Millie muttered quietly, causing Bumblebee to chuckle in amused agreement.

A slight smile crept across Millie's features as her eyes flashed to the elderly couple once again. Bumblebee watched her curiously as her eyes narrowed in suspicion, before they darted around the shop to monitor the biker and the waiter also.

"Relax." Bumblebee said, causing Millie to return her gaze to him. "None of them are going to cause you any harm. Those people will not find you here..."

"How can you be so sure?" Millie asked desperately in a hushed tone, leaning across the table towards the holoform. "You don't even know who's hunting me!"

"So you admit that you will be hunted?" Bumblebee asked with a raised eyebrow, a small, victorious smirk spreading on his face.

"That's low, Bee, very low." Millie scolded him for a moment, before her shoulders slumped and she smiled apologetically at him.

"So can you tell me who they are so I can kick their afts for you?"

"Not happening. You have priorities, and I'm pushing _my_ problems as far down _your_ list as they can go." Millie said bluntly, massaging her temples. She paused for a moment as she thought over Bee's words again. "... Afts?"

Bumblebee widened his eyes slightly, before he was forced to suppress an amused snort.

"You know..." He said, chuckling slightly. "_Aft_."

Millie raised a sceptical eyebrow, smiling in amusement as Bumblebee looked at her with complete and utter disbelief.

"You don't know what an aft is?" He questioned incredulously.

"No clue." Millie said nonchalantly, smirking into her mug as she took another sip from her tea.

Bumblebee grumbled amicably as he quickly searched which feature of the human anatomy would be most closely related to an aft.

"Bee..." Millie whispered suddenly, her voice becoming as cold as ice. "We have a problem."

Bumblebee looked up quickly to see Millie staring darkly over his shoulder and out of the cafe window.

"Don't turn around." Millie murmured sharply, her lips barely moving as she casually lifted her tea to her lips. "Five suits are inspecting your body and the bike."

Bumblebee growled darkly as his eyes dimmed slightly, his focus returning to his true form.

"Don't react Bee..." Millie ordered gently, her emerald eyes flashing dangerously as the sunglass-clad men began to poke and prod Bumblebee, pointing what appeared to be a Geiger counter towards him. She laid a gentle hand across the holoform's, bringing Bumblebee's concentration back to her. "Don't move a metal... We'll get out of this together."

"They're _examining_ me." Bumblebee spat harshly, his eyes filled with anger as he shuddered. "They've already scratched my paint and-" his consciousness returned to his true form for a moment before returning to the holoform once again, his eyes burning a furious ice blue. "They're trying to take samples from my armour."

Millie slammed her tea down harshly, her own eyes smouldering with anger as she began to stand, intent on getting those creeps away from Bee. She knew that they were in deep shit as soon as the suits had started taking interest in Bumblebee. But now they were trying to take samples which would more than likely cause the Autobot pain... Well, in Millie's eyes, shit had just hit the fan.

"We're brother and sister," she informed Bumblebee firmly, her eyes flicking between his now standing holoform and the suits outside. "You live in Tranquility and I live in San Diego. We've met here as its half way and we're catching up over coffee."

Bumblebee nodded in affirmation, watching Millie with interest as the muscles in her shoulders began to tense with anticipation.

"Can you darken the hair colour of the holoform to match my own?" Millie asked. "The more like siblings we look, the better."

Bumblebee nodded, a small frown of concentration flicking across his features as his hair darkened from its sandy blonde to match her mahogany perfectly. Millie glanced around them, thanking whatever gods existed that they were being ignored by the others in the cafe.

"Come on then. Let's get those bastards' hands off you." She said quietly as she began striding casually towards the door, hiding her limp as best she could. Bumblebee walked beside Millie, his arm placed carefully around her back as if to guide her.

"Texas, Bee." Millie whispered through the side of her mouth, a last thought quickly occurring to her. "Use the web to find the accent; use it. We grew up in Dallas."

"Found it." Bumblebee replied almost instantly, his voice adopted a perfect, slightly softened, Texan twang.

"Brilliant." Millie replied, her own voice masked thickly with the accent as she pulled the door open and stepped through onto the street. How the hell they were going to get out of thus situation smoothly, Millie had no idea.

As soon as they were outside, Millie laughed brightly, as if Bumblebee had just told her something very amusing. Bee himself was smiling brightly down at his 'sister'.

The two of them looked over towards Bumblebee's alt form together, faux surprise forming on their faces at the appearance of the men in suits. Millie allowed Bumblebee to loop his arm through hers as he pulled her towards them quickly, an angry expression quickly forming on his face.

"Hey, what do y'all think you're doin'?" He shouted as they approached, his accent holding perfectly. The suits backed up from Bumblebee slightly, but turned to look at Millie and Bee's holoform suspiciously. A single, slightly Hispanic man, who appeared to be the senior in charged, stepped away from the other four men.

"Is this your car, son?" The man asked curtly. Millie noticed what she guessed to be a .45 calibre Glock 30 resting in a holster beneath the man's suit jacket. Standard government issue*. In other words, the situation just got ten times worse.

"Damn right it's my car." Bee replied angrily, gesturing towards the camero with his thumb. "I'm tryin' to catch up with my big sis', and I turn around to see y'all messin' with my paint job! I know it ain't great, but I'm savin' for a respray."

The man looked sceptically at Bumblebee for a moment, before his eyes shifted to Millie. With well practised ease, the girl slipped into the character of a 'big sister', as Bee had called her, and stepped in front of her brother protectively.

"I'd appreciate it if y'all would leave the car be? It ain't ready for scrap just yet."

The man raised a dark brow, his lightly tanned forehead creasing slightly. He glanced from the car and back to the two standing before him. They looked very similar- he'd give them that. Same hair colour, athletic builds, sharp and elegant facial features... But something didn't sit right with him. The Geiger counter had never been wrong.

"What are your names, kids?" He asked in an overly-friendly voice, so much so that it came out just dripping with sarcasm.

"The name's Grace." Millie said, her eyes hardening in fury as the man looked down at them with tired amusement.

"And I'm Ben." Bumblebee added, his hand gripping Millie's softly. A warning: be prepared.

"You see Ben, Grace..." The man told them as he grasped their shoulders, his tone completely patronising. "We're currently dealing with a possible threat to national security," the man gestured to the men surrounding the camero, "there was a disturbance less than twenty four hours ago in the Mojave Desert and we've been called in to investigate. It may sound crazy, but our investigation brought us to your car."

Millie let out a bark of laughter as she looked disbelievingly between the man and the camero.

"What could y'all possibly want with the car?" She asked incredulously, marching past the man and moving straight towards the true Bumblebee. She heard Bee's cry of warning just before her wrist was grabbed harshly and twisted into a painful lock. A hand at the base of her neck pushed Millie's head down and her faced slammed against Bee's hood. The cold barrel of a gun was pressed against the back of her head.

"You see here little lady," The man's voice taking smugly from above her, "this whole operation you've got going on here stinks. I don't trust you, your brother, or the alien robot you're disguising as a crappy camero."

Millie let out a slow breath as she tried to keep her muscles relaxed. She could feel Bumblebee's vibrating softly beneath her, a resonance of worry filtering through his engine.

"Hush Bee," she whispered so her voice was barely audible, "we'll get out of this."

The sound of a struggle behind her sounded as if the other suits were detaining Bumblebee's holoform. A sickening thud echoed across the street as Bee's body was forcefully pushed to the ground.

"You hurt my brother and I'll kick your ass." Millie spat harshly.

A cold laugh fell from the man's lips as he tightened his grip on Millie's arms and increased the pressure of the gun against her head.

"You're not really in a position to be making threats, little lady." The man laughed mockingly, before turning to one of the man behind him. "Bring the counter."

Millie listened intently as footsteps briskly approached her and the man. There were a few short words exchanged between them before the unmistakable sound of a Geiger counter could be heard right by Millie's right ear.

"Off the scale, just like the car." The man said smugly, leaning down to whisper into Millie's ear. "I knew you were a sneaky little liar. Tag 'em and bag 'em boys!"

_Shit_.

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><p><strong>* don't actually know whether the .45 Glock 30 is standard government issue, but it's one of the only types of guns I know, so I went with it :)<strong>

**So I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Millie and Bee's encounter with our dear Sector 7 will conclude next chapter, and then hopefully I can begin the movies after that :)**

**Reviews would very much be appreciated. **

**-Shakalakaboomboom x**


	6. Eventful Escape

**Hello! I hope you're well. I must apologise that this update is well overdue... I have been going through some family difficulties recently with my Grandma and every time I have sat down to write I have either felt completely uninspired or just so drained that I couldn't put down anything coherent. I hope you will forgive me. **

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><p><strong><span>Millie<span>**

_Shit_.

Millie growled in fury as her hands were lifted high behind her, the unmistakable sound of handcuffs reaching her ears.

Without a second thought, her right heel flew up behind her and connected with the man's crotch. She felt his grip weaken as his body buckled in pain behind her. Spinning, Millie twisted her hands from his grasp and elbowed him in the stomach, adding insult to injury. Winded, the man's grip on the Glock weakened so she used a simple disarming technique to make the gun her own. Within seconds, Millie had the man's hands locked behind his back and the Glock pressed to his temple.

"I warned you not to hurt my brother." Millie murmured darkly into his ear as the other suits scrambled to try and help their senior. Bumblebee's holoform was still held on the ground by one of the men, his arms locked in a dead man's lift.

"What's your name, agent?" Millie asked the man pleasantly as she held the gun in place."

"Simmonds." Came the chocked, scathing reply. "Seymour Simmonds."

"Ooh." Millie taunted, a light chuckle rippling from her chest. "Don't know what your Mama was thinking when she gave you a name like that."

Simmonds gave a harsh pull against Millie's grip, grunting with the effort as she continued to hold him in her custody.

"I don't think so." Millie said as her grip on his twisted arms tightened her hold on him. Turning to look at the other suits, Millie repositioned the Glock on Simmonds head slightly. "Right boys. If you want to take Agent Simmonds home in anything but a body bag, you better release my baby brother and get back into your car. Leave all phones and radios on the ground where I can see them, if you please."

The men glared at her for a moment, staring hopelessly between Millie and Simmonds.

"Now listen here, young lady." Simmonds began, twisting his head slightly to look at Millie. "I'm going to count to five and your-"

"-Oh really?" Millie countered, raising an eyebrow and the man's gall. She clicked the safety off the Glock and returned it to Simmonds' temple. "You want to start counting? Be my guest."

Simmonds' muscles tensed hugely as he felt the cold metal of _his own_ Glock pressing into his skull. His eyes flicked from his captor to his men a few metres from them, unsure how to proceed.

"Do as she says." He acquiesced finally, sagging slightly in Millie's hold.

"A wish decision." Millie agreed, hefting Simmonds up slightly to support the man on his feet.

She watched the men like a hawk as they placed their equipment on the ground and retreated slowly, their steps returning them to the Jeep ten metres back. The man holding Bumblebee released him, so the holoform jumped to his feet quickly and moved to stand beside Millie.

"Do you know what your doing?" He whispered in her ear, worrisome undertones lacing his voice.

"Yeah..." Millie replied calmly, trying to conceal her own self doubt from the Autobot. It was typical really; after twelve years she had finally managed to escape her life of assassinations and murders, yet here she was holding a gun to a man's head to try and save herself and Bee.

"Get in the car, Bee." Talking directly to the holoform so to not give Simmonds the satisfactory confirmation that Bumblebee was in fact an Alien. "Be prepared to roll out."

Bumblebee nodded sharply, moving swiftly around the hood of the camero and climbing in to the driver's seat.

Once Millie heard the door shut, her eyes returned to the four other suits who had finally managed to seat themselves within the Jeep.

"What are you going to do now, criminal?" Simmonds spat, his eyes burning with hatred as the last door of the Jeep slammed shut.

Two shots rang out across the street.

Simmonds could not contain his reactive jump as Millie pulled the gun from his head and aimed at the Jeep. In two shots, she hand managed to hit both front tires of the vehicle. He watched on desperately as the wheels deflated rapidly; the car was now useless.

"Don't want you guys following us now do we?" Millie asked nonchalantly as she began to drag Simmonds backwards, the Glock once again positioned at his temple.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Bumblebee<strong>

They were fragged.

Those men knew of the Cybertronians long before he arrived on planet two earth days ago. How the pit did they know?

Bumblebee watched Millie through both his eyes and the eyes of his holoform as she held the man - Simmonds - hostage. The black backpack he had given her was resting across her back as she slowly began to walk backwards, pulling Simmonds with her.

Following her movement, Bee realised that she was moving towards the bike he had bought her. Her eyes flicked to him as she moved backwards, sending a clear message: _get ready to roll out_.

Bumblebee onlined his engine and rolled forward a few metres, shadowing Millie as she ushered Simmonds to the lamppost beside the bike.

Releasing Simmonds and directing him towards the lamppost, Millie raised the gun at his chest and looked at him blankly.

"The belt." She said, gesturing to Simmonds' belt around his waist with the gun. "Take it off, tough guy."

Simmonds spluttered angrily, raising his finger accusingly at Millie.

"You," he spat furiously as he roughly began to undo the belt. "are a criminal. Worse than a criminal: a terrorist. I will find you, and I will bring you _down_. You'll spend your life looking over your shoulder, waiting for me."

The belt snapped away from Simmonds' waist as he thrusted it towards Millie. With a tired eye roll, the girl accepted the belt and raised a calm eyebrow at Simmonds as threats continued to roll from his tongue like a waterfall. Bumblebee revved angrily at the insults, but Millie raised a slight hand to him, stepping forward to draw level with Simmonds. The gun remained pointed towards his heart as she moved closer, effectively silencing him as she pressed the cool metal pressed into his chest.

"Listen to me and listen very carefully." Millie quietly drew her height to match Simmonds' as best she could as the man watched her with wide eyes. "I have been called things far worse than anything you can imagine, and done things far worse also.

"You think you'll find me? Well you're gravely mistaken." Millie chuckled humourlessly as she reached into Simmonds' inside jacket pocket. "I can change who I am in a matter of moments; it's what I do, what I've been trained my whole life to do..."

Bumblebee's felt his spark hum with worry as Millie drew her sentence to a close. He saw the muscles in her back tighten slightly as she realised she'd slipped up: Simmonds knew she was trained.

Stepping away from the man, Millie pulled a leather wallet from the Simmonds' pocket flipping it open coyly as she examined the badge within.

"Sector 7?" She asked offhandedly after a moment of examining the badge, raising an eyebrow at Simmonds once again. "Secret branch of the government perhaps?"

Millie was being clever; extremely clever. Bumblebee watched as she recovered from her slip in mere moments, changing the direction of the conversation to something that would anger Simmonds instantly: something that would fill his mind completely.

"Put that down, girl." Simmonds growled in fury, his eyes burning angrily. "You don't have the authority to start asking questions."

"Oh I believe I do." Millie countered brightly as the waved the gun in her hand. "I'm the one with the gun."

A frustrated growl rippled from Simmonds' throat as he glared daggers at Millie.

Bumblebee began to worry that they were beginning to linger for too long now; Millie and himself needed to get on the road and away from this place as soon as they could. If one of the men in suits had called for back-up before Millie had confiscated their radios, then their situation would get far worse very quickly.

Revving slightly, Bumblebee rolled forwards a few metres again. Millie glanced at him, understanding his meaning instantly.

Pointing the gun at Simmonds again, Millie hefted the belt in her hand.

"Arms up and resting against the lamppost, tough guy." She ordered simply, stepping forward and pushing Simmonds carefully against the pole.

"What do you think you're doing?" Simmonds asked incredulously as Millie moved behind him, the gun now pressed firmly into his back. With a single hand, she began to wrap the belt about his wrists that rested against the lamppost high above his head.

"Did you think I borrowed your belt for nothing?" Millie asked innocently, fastening the buckle of the belt so Simmonds was unable to free his hands. She walk around him once again to look him square in the eye. "I have to make sure that your don't try to drag me off the bike as we leave."

Turning around and completely ignoring the man's string of curses, Millie walked briskly towards the bike and quickly pulled off her baseball cap and carefully put on the helmet. She slipped the cap into her backpack before sliding her leg over the saddle and turning the key in the ignition. The bike roared to life underneath her, and Bumblebee had to try and suppress a chuckle as the sound of his engine combined with the bike's drowned out Simmonds' curses completely.

Bumblebee waited patiently as Millie put the bike into gear. She raised her eyes to meet his holoform's eyes and nodded in affirmation: _ready_.

Accompanied by the screeching of his tyres, Bumblebee turned in the street and began to accelerate away from the Jeeps and Simmonds, the man shouting angrily after the Autobot as he became surrounded by smoke from Bee's tyre's. Millie opened the throttle of the bike and peeled away front the curb, keeping closely to Bumblebee's flank.

"_Where to, Captain?_"

Bumblebee projected the soundbyte to Millie as she drew level with him.

"As far away from here as possible, Bee." Her eyes remained focused on the road ahead as she spoke. "Those men know about your race. We can't let them find you, so the both of us need to become anonymous once again."

Bumblebee nodded in silent agreement, barely noticing as the town around them quickly melted away to the arid countryside.

Two hours later after following as many roads as they could that were devoid of cameras, Millie's began to decelerate as they approached a crossroads.

"Pull over please Bee." Millie asked quietly as the bike continued to slow beneath her. She changed down a few gears as she pulled off the road and onto the dirt of the verge, putting the bike in neutral and cutting the engine as Bee came to a stop behind her.

She cut the engine as Bumblebee began to transform, standing up from his alt form and stretching happily at the freedom of being bipedal once again.

Millie pulled her helmet off and watched Bee silently as he began to bounce on the soles of his pedes, shaking his arms and servos to relieve his stiff joints. His armour shifted across his form to settle into more comfortable positions while the doors that served as wings fit snugly into place across his back.

Looking down, Bee released a soft chirp as he saw the sadness in Millie's eyes. The girl had her hip resting against the bike and her arms where folded loosely across her chest.

"I'm going to miss you, Bee." She murmured, glancing down at the pale dirt of the desert. "I've never felt this safe my whole life."

Bumblebee crouched down slowly, bringing his optics level with Millie's eyes. He release a small string of clicks and chirps again, causing Millie to smile slightly in subdued amusement.

"_We'll meet again..._"

"Don't know where, don't know when..." Millie finished the second half of the lyric from Bee's soundbyte, laughing as Bee whistled happily.

"Nobody can resist a good bit of Vera Lynn, Bee" Millie said, smiling at his antics.

"_Aye, Sir._" Bee played merrily, before his mood began to drop, his optics hardening as he became serious once again. However, his optics brightened slightly again as Millie smiled. He liked it when she smiled; it would cause her whole face to change entirely from controlled and serious to young and carefree - what she should be like at under twenty annum old.

"Bee?" Millie asked curiously as the Autobot realised he's been staring at her. Raising a servo, Bumblebee pointed to pack still resting across Millie's back.

"_Paper... Telecommunications frequency... Incoming message from Starfleet, Captain._"

Millie's eyebrows furrowed curiously as she shrugged off the pack and opened it quickly, digging through to find a small envelope. She held it up questioningly.

"Is this was you're talking about?"

Bumblebee nodded, playing a round of applause through his speakers. Millie looked down at the envelope and fingered it for a moment, thinking over Bee's bytes.

"Are saying that your communication frequency is in here?"

Bumblebee nodded vigorously, clapping his servos together and playing the applause again.

"_Personal... Just for... You and me, baby_."

"I get it." Millie said seriously, tucking the envelope back into the backpack. "It's your personal frequency. Don't lose it, don't let anyone else have it."

Bumblebee nodded again, pleased that Millie had caught on to his meaning so quickly.

"_Identification... Twenty one... Oh... Six._"

"Identification?" Millie asked curiously, looking up from sealing the pack. "You mean like a password?"

Once again, the round of applause rippled from Bumblebee's speakers causing Millie to snort in amusement.

"Two one zero six." She said with a nod, securing the pack across her back and settling it into position. "I won't forget Bee, I promise."

Bumblebee smiled approvingly, glancing up sadly to see the star of this solar system slowly beginning its descent towards the horizon. Millie followed his gaze to watch the sun set. A haze of crimson fire began to blossom on the horizon as the blues of the sky began to burn a deep umber.

Bumblebee vented a sigh as he looked down to Millie again, her eyes moving from the horizon to his optics.

"_Let's go... Hit the road, Jack._" Bumblebee played softly, before carefully transforming down into the camero. This was definitely not his favourite form; the model was over 30 annum outdated on this planet and he could really do with a tune up. Scanning the World Wide Web he quickly found the latest model of the camero, smiling to himself as he registered the specs. Yes, the newest model would suit him much better when the time was right.

Millie sighed and nodded in agreement, turning her back away from Bumblebee as she reached for her helmet.

Onlining his holoform behind Millie, Bee wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug. He felt all her muscles tighten for a moment in shock, before they slowly began to loosen, relaxing as she rested comfortably in his embrace.

"Be careful." Bee whispered gently in her ear, squeezing her slightly in comfort. "Keep your leg clean and dressed until it's healed. If you see anything suspicious, then move; change towns, change states, change countries. Just don't get caught.

A small smile tugged at Millie's lips as she turned in Bumblebee's arms to face him, her eyes shining with gratitude.

"Since when did you care for me so much Bee?" She teased, placing a soft hand on his cheek. "We've known each other what, two days?"

"Since you promised to find me again." Bumblebee replied with a smirk, winking at Millie. "I've decided that you'll repay your debt by giving me a full service once I've can find a more suitable vehicle for a bot of my calibre."

Millie smiled at the smugness in Bee's voice as he complimented himself. She chuckled lightly and pulled him into another hug.

"You got it, Bee."

With a victorious chirp, Bee released Millie as his holoform winked out and his engines roared to life. His wheels spun in the dirt as he accelerated, spinning onto the road and playing a final soundbyte.

"_Ta ta for now!_"

The sound of bright laughter followed Bumblebee down the road as he accelerated away from Millie. He looked behind him to see the girl watching fondly as he departed, her hip resting against the bike again and the helmet held gently between her hands.

Primus Bee hoped he'd find her again all in once piece.

report.:: the familiar transmission from his Prime rang clearly over the primary. Two days on planet and he hadn't sent a report.

Oops.

receiving.:: he replied quickly.

explain your radio silence, what progress have you made?.:: Prime's authoritative but understanding voice transmitted across him comm link. you located the All Spark.::

, Sir.:: He returned ordering the events of the last two days in his processors ready to give an account. arrival and the subsequent events have been... Most eventful.::

* * *

><p><strong>Well that's the chapter! And that's also it for the prequal part for the first film. If all goes to plan, well'll be meeting one Mr Witwickey next chapter :)<strong>

**Til all are one. **

**-Shakalakaboomboom x**


	7. Arrival to Earth

**Hello everyone! Hope you're all well :) it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas (sorry for quoting Michael Buble). We finally get started with Transformers 1 here! Exciting times indeed!**

* * *

><p><span><strong>Millie<strong>

Four and a half months. That's how long it had been since Millie and Bumblebee had parted ways. Having traveled through eleven different states and stayed in twenty three different towns, Millie was finally glad to be putting her feet up at the latest motel in Tranquility, California.

Well.

Putting her feet up wasn't really the most accurate of terms.

Hacking, more like; her favourite past-time.

Each town would be the same: she would find the cheapest motel and a flexible job - most often in waitressing - to earn money. The four grand Bumblebee had given her had gradually been reduced to two grand through times when she couldn't get a job to pay for food and housing. She'd sold the bike as soon as she could and replaced it with a second so not to be recognised following the incident with Sector Seven. She had, however, kept the black backpack; all her possessions were held within the bag. From her savings and clothes to her brand new laptop, Millie had everything in there.

Millie had purchased the laptop that afternoon after finally earning the money she needed for it. She wanted to save the last two thousand of Bee's money for any desperate situations she found herself in, so she'd worked double shifts to earn as much as she could.

Sitting cross legged on the hard mattress of the creaking wooden bed, Millie balanced her newly purchased laptop on her knees as her fingers flew furiously over the key. Her mind was set on her task at hand: hacking into Sector Seven.

Whoever Sector Seven were, they knew of Bumblebee and his species. Any information she could glean from them before her mole was discovered would be valuable to Bee when she found him again.

Firewalls began to crumbling at her fingertips as security was disabled while Millie simultaneously covered the trace of her hack. She had managed to link her Internet connection through hundreds of thousands of servers across the world, making her signal practically untraceable.

Simple.

Before her very eyes, the information gathered by Sector Seven slowly began to filter onto her screen. With wide eyes, Millie read through the information and digested it as quickly as her eyes would allow her. Project Iceman. Non-Biological Extraterrestrials. Reverse engineering.

"Jesus Christ..." She whispered harshly as data logs and photographs of NBE One popped up for her to see. The experiments that had been conducted on the frozen bot were horrifically cruel; such intrusion into its systems was disgraceful. Did they not realise that 'NBE One' was a highly intelligent sentient creature possibly thousands of years older than themselves?

"Oh Bee..." Millie whispered, her voice pained as further tests and experimental results continued to pop up onto the screen. Who knew that even the laptop she was using right at that moment had been reversed engineered from _him_.

"Thank god they didn't get their hands on you, Bee..." Millie murmured as the information continued to filter onto her screen. She didn't dare to think what would happen to the dear Autobot if he had been captured by those people.

After half an hour of downloading and reading, a small alarm began to sound from Millie's watch. Glancing down, she saw the time and quickly cut all the links she had made into the Sector Seven network. Quarter to six in the afternoon: time to get to work. Her shift was six til midnight, but she'd do all she could to leave work as soon as possible to get back to all the new information she had found. Anything she could learn before she found Bee once again would be an asset to them both.

Slipping a 'Hal's Diner' shirt over her black skinny jeans, Millie stuffed her laptop and possessions into her backpack and threw on a black leather jacket. She pulled the rucksack on tightly before leaving the room and locking it behind her.

* * *

><p>Ten forty three. One hour and thirteen minutes until her shift was up and the diner was empty. Nada. Nothing. There wasn't even a single straggler left in any of the booths. Sighing, Millie glanced around herself again to make sure the diner was most definitely <em>empt<em>y, before she turned and made her way to the back with the mop and bucket in hand.

Slipping the mop and bucket into the store room, Millie wiped her brow quickly as she switched the light off and locked the door behind her.

"Alice!" A voice called from the office down the short, bright hallway.

"Yeah?" Millie replied, a small twinge of sadness gripping her heart as she was forced to lie to her perfectly charming boss. She'd worked for some real horrors in the last few months, but Hal was a saint.

"How're you doin' out there darlin'?" Hal asked as her head appeared around the corner of his office. His thick southern accent failing to dampen the kindness and honestly that was ever present in his voice.

"Surfaces disinfected and wiped, floors moped, trash out the back, dishwasher running..." Millie replied as she counted the list off her fingers. "Joan's finishing up in the kitchen and it's like a ghost town in front of house... I just don't know where anyone is tonight, Boss."

"No it's alright Alice..." Hal said, putting the paperwork down on the small mahogany desk and running his fingers through his slowly greying hair.

He sighed heavily and glanced up through his lashes at Millie as she waited patiently in the doorway.

"Anything left for you to do?"

"Not that I can th-"

A familiar, thundering _boom _filled the room suddenly as the whole building began to shake furiously.

"What the-?" Hal shouted in surprise as he stood from his desk just as the piece of furniture began to topple over. A second deafening crash echoed from outside a moment before a fire seemed to erupt on the street and the windows of the office imploded. Millie and Hal dropped to the ground covering their heads as shattered splinters of glass rained down around them. The sounds of scream came from outside as the street quickly filled with flames.

"Shit!" Hal shouted out as he crawled across the floor of his destroyed office. Millie reached a hand out to him from her place on the ground near the doorway, pulling him towards her. That sound. That ear-splitting boom was one that Millie had scarcely been able to forget. Something had entered thief atmosphere.

She needed to content Bumblebee as soon as possible.

Once Hal was clear of the office, Millie clambered quickly to her feet and pulled him up alongside her. She glanced down the corridor to her right where the lockers were, knowing that her laptop and Bee's envelope were inside. She then looked left and down toward the kitchen door. Joan hadn't emerged from the kitchen yet. They couldn't even hear her usually singing voice. She was in trouble.

Millie didn't even need to think a moment for her decision to be made: Joan first, then Bumblebee.

"Hal, come on." Millie instructed as she began to jog down the corridor, pulling the man behind her. The lights flickered uselessly for a moment before they shorted out completely, their electricity supply clearly compromised. "We need to find Joan and we need to find out what the hell's going on."

Millie didn't see, but Hal nodded sharply behind her, forcing his rising hysteria back down and focusing on making sure Joan was safe.

The two reached the end of the corridor and quickly pushed through the heavy fire door into the kitchen. Pots, pans, food and utensils had been sent flying across the room in all directions. Millie made her way quickly over to the hob where she hastily shut off the gas, praying that the line from the barrels hadn't ruptured.

"Joan?" Hal shouted worriedly as he scrambled through the sea of debris that had filled the kitchen floor. "Joan, you in here?"

"I'm over here..." A small muffled voice called out from the back right corner of the room. "I'm stuck... I can't get out!"

Hal glanced at Millie to see that she too had heard Joan's voice. Simultaneously, the two began to hurry over to the corner, clambering over the fallen freezer and smashed plates.

"Where are you Joan?" Millie shouted gently as she reached the corner. "Keep talking to us so we can find you."

"I heard the sound and jumped underneath the prep board as soon as I could." Joan replied, her muffled voice coming from behind the fridge. "Good thing too. The fridge damn near fell on me the next moment."

"Hal, help me with this." Millie said as she reached the fridge, which as Joan said had toppled on its side. Milks, eggs and many other ingredients had spilled out from its broken door and covered the floor in a horrible slippery mess. Hal was next the Millie not a moment later as the two began to try and push the fridge out of the way. Their feet slipped on the milk beneath them as the fridge slowly began to move, the corner of Joan's prep table showing from behind it.

"Nearly there." The woman's voice said from behind it. "You're nearly there, just a little further..."

After a final push from Millie and Hal, Joan managed to find enough space between the table and the fridge to squeeze through the small gap and get herself free. She jumped to her feet quickly, slipping slightly on the wet mess underfoot. Hal caught her arm to stabilise her as a relieved smile plastered itself on her face. Joan grasped Hal's arm that was stabilising her and pulled him into a tight, grateful hug. Her hand snaked out a grabbed Millie's, pulling to girl closer as well.

"Thanks so much..." She sighed happily as Millie and Hal returned the hug, the three of breathing heavily for a moment as they glanced around the destroyed kitchen.

"What the hell caused this?" Hal whispered finally, his relief slowly dissipating as he looked upon his ruined diner.

"I have no idea..." Millie replied quietly, even though she had a damn good idea. She pulled herself from Joan's grip to wander over to the window. "One thing I do know though, is that your insurance company is going to love you."

Hal snorted softly before he rubbed his temples tiredly.

"However true, your sarcasm really isn't coming at the best time Alice."

"Sorry, Boss." Millie replied with a small shrug as she pulled up the blind of the window to look outside. "Just trying to lighten the mood."

She sucked in a harsh breath when she saw the scene that greeted her.

A long, deep trench had been carved into the road outside, defining the path of something - or some_one_ - that had fallen from the sky and crashed into the electronics store opposite.

"Well _shit_."

"What's gone on out there Ali?" Joan asked, coming to stand at the window beside Millie before covering her mouth in shock.

"I'm gonna have to rephrase, Hal." Millie said, turning from the widow to allow Joan a better view of the carnage outside. "You insurance company is gonna like you more than it likes old Jerry and his electronics store."

"What...?" Hal questioned as he stumbled through the mess of the kitchen and over to the window. Millie stepped aside to allow his passage just as another three flashes of fire rippled across the sky again.

"Oh my god!" Joan scream, jumping back from the window and promptly falling to the floor as she slipped on the spilt milk. It barely phased her however as she continued to stare out of the window, her finger pointing to the sky. "Three more just went over head going towards the suburbs!"

Hal rushed to the window, Millie close behind, and stared out of the window, craning his neck to stare out at the sky.

"You sure Joan?" He asked, turning and offering a hand to the woman on the floor.

"Positive." Joan replied, accepting the hand and pulling herself back to her feet.

Millie stared out of the window for a moment, watching as civilians and the emergency services quickly swarmed the destroyed shop opposite. She watched curiously as a Hummer H2 search and rescue vehicle appeared from the side of the building and began to drive away.

Strange.

A rescue vehicle driving _away_ from the emergency.

Turning on her heel, Millie began to pick her way back across the kitchen as quickly as she could. She looked back over her shoulder at Hal and Joan as the two watched her hasty departure curiously.

"I'm going to scour the blogs," she lied quickly, pulling the door open as she did so, "see if there's any news rolling in so we can shed some light on what's going on."

Hal nodded in agreement as Millie's head disappeared behind the door. She heard a quiet "I'll come check on you in a moment" as she took off down the corridor. Shit. If Hal was going to check what she was doing then she needed to be quick.

Sliding to a halt beside her locker, Millie quickly undid the bolt and pulled open the door. She pulled her back from the locker and slammed it shut, rushing into the office and perching on the corner of the desk. She pulled the zip of her bag open as she hastily grabbed her laptop and the envelope from within. She snapped the laptop open and turned it on. While the machine was booting up she tore open the envelope and found Bumblebee's frequency and the identification code.

When her laptop was completely online, Millie quickly hacked into the local telecommunications tower and began to broadcast from Bumblebee's frequency modulation.

:.:_Identification code: 2106._:.:

Millie paused for a moment, her fingers hovering over the keyboard as she hoped and preyed she'd sent the message to Bee's correctly.

:.:_What was the first sandwich I gave you?_:.:

Millie couldn't hold back the snort of amusement at Bee's swift reply. She paused for a moment as she recalled the sandwich before she quickly sent it back, a smirk on her face.

:.:_Coronation chicken_:.:

:.:_MILLIE! Primus it is you!_:.:

Millie stifled a second laugh as Bee's message came through.

:.:_Jesus Bee, did you really think I couldn't follow your instructions?_:.:

:.:_I had complete faith in you_:.:

:.:_Glad to hear it_:.:

Millie couldn't help the grin that was plastered on her face as she sent the messages back and forth between herself and Bumblebee.

:.:_I gotta cut to the chase, Bee. These four asteroid that have landed in Tranquility - are they Autobots? The diner where I work nearly got crushed by one._:.:

:.:_You're in Tranquility?!_:.:

:.:_Yes?_:.:

There was another - albeit longer - pause as Millie waited for a reply from Bee. She ran her fingers through her hair nervously as her screen remained blank, her ears straining to make sure Hal wasn't coming.

:.:_I think it was Ratchet who landed opposite you.:_.:

:.:_Did he transform into a search and rescue Hummer H2?_:.:

Another pause.

:.:_Yes he did_:.:

:.:_Then yes, it was Ratchet._:.:

Millie waited again as Bumblebee fell silent. Her fingers rapped quietly on the desk as the seconds ticked by.

:.:_Ironhide is closer to you now than Ratchet. Go to the carpark of the McDonalds half a mile west of Ratchet's landing site. Ironhide'll pick you up from there and bring you to us_.:.:

:.:_Will do. See you in a bit Bee._:.:

:.:_See you soon Millie._:.:

With that, Millie severed her connection to Bee and shut her laptop down quickly, returning it hastily to her backpack. She shouldered the bag quickly before jogging back to her locker and removing the motorcycle helmet from with. She hesitated as she turned to the back door, guilt filling her as she realised she'd just be leaving Hal and Joan with no explanation.

Turning around again and returning to the office, Millie snatched a loose bit of paper and a discarded pen from the floor and hastily scribbled a note down.

_Message from brother - have had to go. Sorry. Alice x_

It was a twisted play on the truth, definitely, but it was the closest Millie could get to not lying to Hal and Joan. She really liked the pair of them and had truly enjoyed her time working at the diner. It was a goodbye she actually regretted, knowing full well that 'Alice' would never see them again.

Using a ball of blue tack, Millie stuck the note to the door of the office and pulled it shut before heading down the corridor and out the back. She pushed open the door and squeezed around the dumpsters to the place where she had left her small motorbike resting against the wall.

She slipped her helmet on and clipped the strap into place before she climbed onto the motor bike and put the key in the ignition. The bike roared to life beneath her as Millie kicked it into first and took off down the road, swerving around a few civilians and pieces of rubble that were scattered across the street.

She couldn't help the feeling of excitement that began to grow within her; she had a purpose again! One where she'd actually be able to help someone for a change.

_I'm on my way, Bee. _

* * *

><p><strong>Firstly, I must apologise if any of my language sounds particularly British. It's because... Well... I <em>am<em> British, so I can't help the way I talk :)**

**Anyway, that's the chapter! Next time Millie meets Optimis and the other Autobots :) I'm still kind of unsure what Millie's reaction should be when she meets him... Any ideas or preferences? This is obviously an Optimus/OC story but it's meant to be a slow one compared to the speed I've seen a fics take.**

**Reviews keep me writing!**

**By the way... Has anyone seen the new Star Wars trailer?! I swear the voiceover sounds just like Benedict Cumberbatch... **

**Til all are one!**

**-Shakalakaboomboom x**


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